peteski

I got some of the Hasegawa foil, and did a small test application. It is actually very thin metalized vinyl (?) film with adhesive back. It looks just like chrome, and it has some stretch to it. it will to some extent stretch over convex curved surfaces. But if it is stretched to fit depressions, it will eventually pull back and "relax" to almost to the un-stretched state. It should work well for chroming simple protruding features, but it is nowhere like the original BMF. But it sure looks "chromier". Of course it is also very pricey.

PMs are similar in function to way email works (except that it is confined to PM exchanges between forum members within the forum itself, where as email can be anywhere to anyone on the Internet with a valid email address). I suppose that (just like with standard emails), you can have almost live conversation if you and the PM recipient are both online in the forum and respond in real-time to each other's PMs.

Back in the '90s there was a mail order company in Florida called IIRC "Phoenix something", and they used to sell a whole range of Imai/Imex 1:12 bikes. Mostly Harleys. They also carried Protar bikes (1:9). Nowadays, with so many online (mail-order) companies out there, you can easily order any of the currently production Japanese bikes. Hobby Link Japan, and Hobby Search are 2 companies I buy from most often. But older, out of production models are hard to find (expensive). IMO, there really isn't much of a demand in USA for model motorcycles.

If it really takes 1-3, and the other one 6 months to harden (!?), then I'm not really surprised that 10 hours in the dehydrator did not harden it either. I have been known to leave painted items in my dehydrator (around 120 deg. F) for few days. I have no experience with that clears you're using. Maybe someone else who uses it will chime in with their experience.

Nothing? Well, it kept your painted items at 113 degrees F for 10 hours. So it did its "thing". Why the paint did not cure? I have no idea? How long does that paint take for you to cure at room temperature? None of the paints I use in my hobbies require elevated temperature for drying/curing, but elevated temperature does speed the curing/drying. Does the paint/clear you use specify that it needs oven curing? If not, then the paint is designed to cure at room temperature. If it does not dry/cure at room temperature then maybe there is a problem with the paint?

No way I know of to directly email a member of the forum. Forum does have member's emails, but another member does not have access to that info. Well, as far as I know. You can only contact other members via PM (or by public message, which I have never tried).

Here is a chart of common sizes of Surface Mount Device (SMD) package footprints. It is common among all the SMD devices (resistors, capacitors, LEDs). These dimensions are of the footprint. The height is not described as it varies between different components. You can also see how the size (the 4 digit code split up into two 2-digit numbers) relates to the actual dimensions in decimal inches. I figured that this will be helpful to decide which LED is best suited to your project, so then you can look for that size on eBay.

PMs are not emails. PMs are conducted within the forum website. Yes, do you get notified via email that you received a PM, but to reply you have go to the forum's website and reply here. EDIT: However I just send a test PM to myself and I have not yet received an email notifying me about the PM, so the forum's email notification might be slow, or broken. About 2 weeks ago there was a problem with email notification. Maybe the problem is occurring again. See:

Thanks for showing before and after examples. I used the word "photoshopped" in the context of manipulating/editing a bitmap image to achieve the desired result. https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/photoshop Another free program that has been around for some time is Gimp. The added clouds look really good. One thing that looks a bit strange is the repeating pattern on the barbed wire in the lower right of the photo. You probably cloned the same piece of the photo multiple times. If you felt like taking the time, that should be easily fixed.

Great Photoshop job! I had a hard time determining that the shuttle was a model.

I like it! That gold paint looks good too. I have this one, and the Creepy-T in my stash (to be built someday).

Scary? Why? Testors paints are (and were always) designed for plastic models. No primer needed. When you were a kid, did you put a coat of primer (from a hardware store) before spraying models using color paints from Pactra or Testors? Probably not. I build mostly unmodified kit bodies. When I use hobby paints like Testors I don't use primer. To me any additional layer of paint ruins the realism (paint coat gets too thick, out of scale). The only time I would use primer with hobby paints would be if the model was modified in some way that required putty. Then the primer is needed to make the model's surface uniform. Otherwise, the paint goes over bare plastic. Of course this works with the "stinky" "paints. Acrylic water-based paints usually dont' stick well to bare plastic. I don't use those.

I have not sent many packages lately and I don't recall the regional boxes being the available selection for Click-n-Ship, but I'll take you for it. But I believe the prices for the current options seem quite a bit higher than last time I used Priority Mail.

That is a whole a lot of masking! Good job on preventing any paint bleed. I don't know if it is the way the photos show the paint, but it looks just like silver paint, not metallic "chrome". Maybe it looks better in person?

I don't remember seeing "regional boxes". All I see is: Priority Mail® Small Flat Rate Box 5-3/8" x 8-5/8" x 1-5/8" Priority Mail® Medium Flat Rate Box 11" x 8-1/2" x 5-1/2 or 13-5/8" x 11-7/8" x 3-3/8" Priority Mail® Large Flat Rate Box 23-11/16" x 11-3/4" x 3" or 12 1/4" x 12 1/4" x 6" What size were those regional boxes?

That is a nice heavy duty cutter. They sure don't make them like this anymore. Cast (or forged) steel handle with replaceable blade. No wonder it can cut through thick plastic. I bet it would also cut aluminum sheets.

Your earlier response "And you have lenses for other projects." seemed to imply that the kit's lenses are not used, and could be saved for other projects.

In USA, it was considered a low-end commuter car, and was never very popular. As I recall, it actually had bad reputation for reliability and rusting. I don't think that even the Turbo version was sold in large numbers. From what I see in the photos, the 3D parts are just the reflectors -- it still uses the kit's clear lenses.

Ah, it was sold in USA as Renault LeCar. Looks like it will be a fun build. One thing that jumped at me is those kit tires. They look way too "sporty" (wide tread and low-profile) for this little inexpensive pedestrian car. Even the color drawings of the car in the instructions seem to show narrow tires.

Yes, it looks really good! Good photos too.

The bell looks like it actually works (when you pull on the handle). Very nice!

Funny thing is that there has been some mentions in this country of getting rid of currency, and only use other payment methods. Hopefully not in my lifetime.

My supermarket has a small display of Matchbox cars in one in one of the isles. I usually glance at it as I go by while grocery shopping. Few recent times there was a model that attracted my attention enough for me to buy it. Actually the nice pictures on the blister packs played some role in attracting me to those models. Well done Matchbox! These are not rare or anything like that, but I figured I'll post some photos for you all to see them. Porsche 914 (poor man's Porsche) is not often seen as a model. The Matchbox version looked really good. The nice paint job, the way the cab windows wrap around into the roof, and a sunroof all got my attention. The stuff in the bed also looks good, and the wheels are nicely done. Station wagons are not often rendered as models, especially Mercedes'. That's why this one went home with me.

I suspect that Daniel meant this: Any brick&mortar hobby shop should carry it, and it is also available from online hobby shops, eBay, amazon or directly from Microscale. As for creating your own waterslide decals, that is another can of worms.

Smallest available LEDs are SMD 0201 (that is 0.020" x 0.010")! You can buy those pre-wired on eBay. I plan to use those in some of N scale (1:160) model railroad projects. Next up are SMD 0402 LEDs (as you would expect, they are 0.040" x 0.020"). All LEDs are available in multiple colors of course.